Wheel Balancing On Corolla

[bert.tsport]

hi,

was wondering if someone could clear up a dispute i have about how a wheel should be balanced on a corolla t sport....

ive always understood that wheels are balanced on the wheel balancing machine off the vehicle...

but, i am being told that toyota wheels need to be balanced on the hub of the car???

can anyone who has had new tyres fitted confirm how there wheels were balanced.

ive never heard of whats being suggested to me , but apparently its only toyotas and trucks that need balancing this way.

i must point out that my wheels are bk racing and not standard alloys. but would be interested if the standard toyota alloys require balancing on the vehicle?

apparently all toyota models need balancing on car??

thanks bert

[Timo]

Hi Bert!

havent heard of this before...

Ive always balanced my wheels off the car on a machine.

Maybe a dumb question, but are you sure they understood you or maybe they think you wanna make a wheel alignment?? Dont think so but you never know...

Toyota should know best :)

[selfbuild]

I had both my front tyres replaced a Mr T (I supplied the tyres) and they were balanced off the car.

I know this cus I watched them do it ;)

[TheNissanMan]

Wheels are balanced off the vehicle to ensure they are balanced correctly (if done on the car something on the car maybe out of synch). The balancing machines are regularly calibrated to ensure this happens.

Alignment is done on the vehicle...

[bert.tsport]

thanks for your replys i have also watched my wheels being balanced off the car on the balancing machine many times with various cars over the years

but:

the repair center my cts is at (one of the uks largest chain of bodyshops) told me they had to drive the car to get a tyre fitted on a 14mile journey as it had to be balanced on the hub of the car at the tyre shop they were purchasing it from 7 miles away :censor: :ffs: they also tried to return the car to me with not enough petrol to drive off their forecourt :censor: :ffs: this cant be common practice? can it?

they could not understand why i thought that they should of removed the wheel and placed it in the bodyshop van and taken it to the tyre shop for fitting and balancing??????? there was no need for them to take the car, only the said wheel and tyre... it cant be right driving customers cars surely... unless absolutley nessesary ?

but they swear blind the wheel was balanced on the hub of the car and not on the machine whilst removed from the car.... so it was nessesary in there eyes.

i was actually begining to beleive them for a split second....

then i found this on the net.... now im not sure what to think? click here.

[cfc1]

Ok, you just confused me...

the repair center it is at told me they had to drive the whole car to get a tyre fitted on a 14mile journey

This suggests to me that the car is AT the workshop.. but then.....

they could not understand why i thought that they should of removed the wheel and placed it in their van and taken it to the tyre shop?

This suggests to me that they travelled to you, possibly in a mobile fitting van?

I've been a tyre fitter for more years than i dare think about.. time goes too fast these days :(... and i have NEVER had to balance a wheel ON the car.. to say that all Toyotas need the wheels balanced on the car is utter nonesence!. However, this method of balancing wheels does exist and its quite possible that it is this type of equipment they could carry in their van.. but even if that is the case, there is still no need to drive the car anywhere, let alone 14 miles.. the cars would normally get jacked up and the balancing tool spins the wheel on the axle (engine doesn't even need to be running.. infact, on some occasions the engine vibrations would interfere with the vibrations that the equipment is trying to detect and correct, resulting in an inaccurate balance in the wheels)

S to answer your question... tyres are fitted at the workshop, inflated, balanced on the workshop balancing machine then refitted to the vehicle, jacks are dropped and wheels torqued up... or.. tyres are fitted inside the mobile van, wheel is fitted back on the car, balancing device is put in place, wheel gets balanced.. then the jacks are let down and the wheel nuts torqued up.

[bert.tsport]

Ok, you just confused me...

the repair center it is at told me they had to drive the whole car to get a tyre fitted on a 14mile journey

This suggests to me that the car is AT the workshop.. but then.....

they could not understand why i thought that they should of removed the wheel and placed it in their van and taken it to the tyre shop?

This suggests to me that they travelled to you, possibly in a mobile fitting van?

I've been a tyre fitter for more years than i dare think about.. time goes too fast these days :(... and i have NEVER had to balance a wheel ON the car.. to say that all Toyotas need the wheels balanced on the car is utter nonesence!. However, this method of balancing wheels does exist and its quite possible that it is this type of equipment they could carry in their van.. but even if that is the case, there is still no need to drive the car anywhere, let alone 14 miles.. the cars would normally get jacked up and the balancing tool spins the wheel on the axle (engine doesn't even need to be running.. infact, on some occasions the engine vibrations would interfere with the vibrations that the equipment is trying to detect and correct, resulting in an inaccurate balance in the wheels)

S to answer your question... tyres are fitted at the workshop, inflated, balanced on the workshop balancing machine then refitted to the vehicle, jacks are dropped and wheels torqued up... or.. tyres are fitted inside the mobile van, wheel is fitted back on the car, balancing device is put in place, wheel gets balanced.. then the jacks are let down and the wheel nuts torqued up.

sorry, i had worded my post badly... ive edited it . read it again it makes sense now. :)

[cfc1]

Dynamic Balance

Also known as "spin balancing" can be done either on or off the vehicle. The majority of tires are probably balanced on computerized spin balancers. After clamping the wheel on the machine, setting the wheel dimensions, it spins up and calculates the locations and amount of weight to apply to the rim to correct the balance. Most spin balancers center the wheel on a cone-shaped mounting device. This works fine for vehicles that locate the wheel on the vehicle via the hub (i.e. "hub-centric"). For vehicles, like Toyota, that locate the wheel on the hub via the lug nuts (i.e. "lug-centric") a special lug-centric adapter should be used to properly balance the wheel. On vehicle balancers avoid this problem, spinning up the wheel in place.

These days the only wheels that require centering on the wheel balancer useing the "lug-centric" method are those that have a solid centre.. such as some Citreon's and Peugeot's.. for this we use the Haweka adaptor which mounts on the wheel balancer and still allows us to balance these wheels off the car... for most other wheels there is cones that will fit in the bore hole of the wheel.

One point you should remember though.. even IF this is the case reguarding Toyota's (which it's deffinately not) you have fitted BK racing wheels.. so by the workshop's logic.. EVERY car with the same wheels as yours would need balancing on the car???.. i think not

14 mile drive - If the garage had to drive the car on a 14 mile round trip to get tyres fitted, you should have been informed of this in advance.. "we don't do tyres here, we take them to X place to get them fitted.. is that OK?".. then it would be up to you to ensure that there is enough fuel in the tank for this journey.

[bert.tsport]

Dynamic Balance

Also known as "spin balancing" can be done either on or off the vehicle. The majority of tires are probably balanced on computerized spin balancers. After clamping the wheel on the machine, setting the wheel dimensions, it spins up and calculates the locations and amount of weight to apply to the rim to correct the balance. Most spin balancers center the wheel on a cone-shaped mounting device. This works fine for vehicles that locate the wheel on the vehicle via the hub (i.e. "hub-centric"). For vehicles, like Toyota, that locate the wheel on the hub via the lug nuts (i.e. "lug-centric") a special lug-centric adapter should be used to properly balance the wheel. On vehicle balancers avoid this problem, spinning up the wheel in place.

These days the only wheels that require centering on the wheel balancer useing the "lug-centric" method are those that have a solid centre.. such as some Citreon's and Peugeot's.. for this we use the Haweka adaptor which mounts on the wheel balancer and still allows us to balance these wheels off the car... for most other wheels there is cones that will fit in the bore hole of the wheel.

One point you should remember though.. even IF this is the case reguarding Toyota's (which it's deffinately not) you have fitted BK racing wheels.. so by the workshop's logic.. EVERY car with the same wheels as yours would need balancing on the car???.. i think not

14 mile drive - If the garage had to drive the car on a 14 mile round trip to get tyres fitted, you should have been informed of this in advance.. "we don't do tyres here, we take them to X place to get them fitted.. is that OK?".. then it would be up to you to ensure that there is enough fuel in the tank for this journey.

thanks mate.

it must just be an excuse out of the mechanics handbook of how to fob off customers :ffs:

they must think i was born yesterday :censor:

bert

[L4AGZE]

I think you should name and shame them on the forum because it all sounds ridiculous and the excuses even worse.

[bert.tsport]

I think you should name and shame them on the forum because it all sounds ridiculous and the excuses even worse.

dont worry, i will name and shame them when ive got the vehicle back. im waiting for the assessor from my insurance company to pass the repair this time. this has been going on since feb... 3rd time the vehicle has been back to them... and the last. if its not correct this time its being redone by toyota approved repairer.